Born and raised in Greece, I have always been fascinated by the history and mythology of my homeland. My love for reading historical fiction and Greek myths has been drawing me into stories of ancient civilizations and their timeless tales. Visiting archaeological sites and museums, where history comes to life through the remnants of the past has been a lifelong passion and Is a source of inspiration. These experiences have shaped my love for storytelling and my desire to breathe new life into Greek myths and history. In my writing, I aim to bridge the gap between the ancient and the modern.
I wrote...
An Unexpected Ally: A Greek Tale of Love, Revenge, and Redemption
I loved this book for the way Madeline Miller creatively retells Greek myths with a female protagonist. As Circe grows up, she discovers her power of magic, which can transform enemies into monsters and even challenge the gods.
Bold and inspiring, Miller vividly strings together figures like Prometheus, Medea, Calypso, Odysseus, and the Minotaur in a feminist reimagining of Circe's life. I find it to be a thoughtful and well-crafted biography of a complex and engaging mythological character with both divine and human strengths and flaws. I have read it several times, and the story has maintained its appeal.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child - not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When her gift threatens…
I was captivated by the slow and deliberate flirtation of Dionysus with Ariadne as he revealed his own story with passion and intimacy. I felt the shared sense of abandonment between him and Ariadne, one mortal, the other immortal. I found that weaving in Phaedra’s story with the lively interactions between the two sisters with such different personalities was a clever plot devise, it was intriguing and added to the complexity of the story.
The characters evolve: innocence, abandonment, depravity, and new awarenesses show in a tragic tale where Theseus, Daedalus, Icarus, Hippolytus, and Perseus support a story basically describing the differing points of view of the two sisters. A great choice for readers like me, who enjoy stories based on Greek mythology with a feminist slant.
A mesmerising retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS.
'ARIADNE gives voice to the misused Princess of Crete who betrayed her father to save Theseus from the Minotaur. Relevant and revelatory.' - Stylist
As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother - demands blood every year.
I found this vivid retelling of the Trojan War, based on the Iliad and the Odyssey from prominent and less-known women, interspersed with Calliope's commentary, engaging and relatable. Natalie Haynes, the author of other Homer-inspired stories, tells it skillfully and from a feminist POV. I enjoyed reading this well-crafted book elevating the voice of women based on original works that promote male heroes. Wonderful world-building!
Incidentally, the author has an interesting background, a Cambridge education in classics, a career with the BBC and another as a comedian. I also enjoyed interviews, speeches and material related to Haynes (utube) whose writing is fluid and relatable.
In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective, for fans of Madeline Miller and Pat Barker.
This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .
In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.
From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands…
I love the descriptions Pat Barker, a British author, uses as she delves into the cruelty and ugliness of war. This reframe of victors, the Greeks who are winners of the Trojan War is richly written; the characters of the captors are despicable as they live in the ruins of a glorious city, enslaving women, but punished by their gods who trap them away from their homes.
Revenge is in the air as the raped and degraded Trojan women, spoils of the war, conspire while living with their Greek captors. What I love about it, above all, is the bleak description of a brutal patriarchy.
'Magnificent. You are in the hands of a writer at the height of her powers' Evening Standard
There was a woman at the heart of the Trojan War whose voice has been silent - until now. Discover the greatest Greek myth of all - retold by the witness that history forgot . . .
Briseis was a queen until her city was destroyed. Now she is a slave to the man who butchered her husband and brothers. Trapped in a world defined by men, can she survive…
The story drew me in for it is written from a point of view I had not encountered before. Set in patriarchal Sparta and Mycenae, the heroine emerges from a world where women had little agency.
She is presented as a likable, innocent youth who evolves into a formidable woman, righting wrongs with strength and might. Clytemnestra’s power and accomplishments kept me in in awe as her journey unfolds without divine interventions. She faces numerous challenges head on, in a matter-of-fact way.
This story is not for the faint of heart, as there is plenty of violence that runs through it. Hard, strong, and decisive, she is an overwhelming character who engages with the notable men of her time, refusing to relinquish her independence.
"Fans of Circe and Elektra should pick up this powerful Greek myth retelling." ―Cosmopolitan
For fans of Madeline Miller, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.
As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best…
You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of…
Circe, the mythical sorceress, finds herself lonely after Odysseus leaves her for Ithaca. In search of love, she visits the island of Delos and meets Glaucus, an immortal sea creature, and discovers they share knowledge of herbs and prophecy. However, Glaucus is infatuated with a mortal beauty, Skylla, who has no interest in him.
Circe befriends Skylla and vows to protect her, while Glaucus, enraged by rejection, turns Skylla into a monster. Learning of Skylla’s fate, Circe shapeshifts into an eagle, finds the monster in Messina, and uses her magic to restore Skylla’s human form. The two return to Delos, where Skylla reunites with her loved ones in a story about love and friendship, vengeance and righting of wrongs.
Unlike the typical tales of a flawless fighting unit, this story follows Commander Kami Trenn and her ragtag squad of mixed-race space marines.
Dog Squad fights a mysterious adversary whose presence remains shrouded in secrecy. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance, but will they be able to make enough of a difference?
Can they hope to uncover the enemy’s plans for galactic dominance before the Alliance falls? Maybe. If they can stop fighting each other.
Across the void formed by two galactic spiral arms, vast forces face each other.
The tenuous Alliance, sixty civilizations united only by fear of invasion, prepare to resist the encroachment of their as-yet unseen enemy, known only as the Creeps.
The Void has become a battleground. Three thousand light years across, and populated by a scattering of ten thousand ‘dark’ worlds, it is the Alliance’s last chance to protect their way of life. Self-destructive, robotic drones pour across the Void in ever-increasing numbers, testing the Alliance fleets to breaking point.
